Week of May 26 - 30

I hope everyone enjoyed a restful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

Here's what we did in the Science Lab this week:

• Kindergarten: I didn't get to see my kindergarten friends this week because of our Memorial Day holiday. I hope you and your family had a relaxing weekend!
• 1st grade: We had a nature scavenger hunt outside.
• 2nd grade: We learned how each part of a plant helps it grow and set up a stem experiment that we'll watch for the next week.
• 3rd grade: We played some games about ecosystems and habitats.
• 4th grade: We studied erosion and deposition more in-depth by exploring stream tables.

Week of May 19 - 23

Here's what we did in the Science Lab this week:

• Kindergarten: We played a variety of science games in the lab.
• 1st grade: Old Union Field Day was this morning, and we had a special assembly in the afternoon, so I didn't get to share any science with first graders this week. We'll have fun together next week, though!
• 2nd grade: We learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. We'll be watching our class caterpillars turn into butterflies over the next few weeks.
• 3rd grade: We played a rainforest life cycle game that focused on the Brazilian Tree Nut and the creatures that depend on it.
• 4th grade: We learned about the properties of soil and how to filter soil.

Week of May 13 - 17

Here's a recap of our Science Lab activities this week:

• Kindergarten: We learned about goldfish this week! We learned that goldfish have special physical features that allow them to live underwater. We got to observe real goldfish, do a goldfish puzzle, and play some other fun creature games.
• 1st grade: We learned about ants this week. We added ants to our ant farm and got to observe them in action. We also learned about an ant's life cycle and all of the amazing things they can do.
• 2nd grade: We studied the life cycle of a butterfly this week. We learned about the various stages a caterpillar goes through as it transforms into a butterfly. We saw how truly breathtaking nature can be!
• 3rd grade:We played a game about life cycles in the rain forest and saw how difficult it can be for certain creatures to survive.
• 4th grade:We learned more about erosion by studying how rocks can break down. We illustrated this with chalk, cinnamon, sugar cubes, and glass jars {ask your 4th grader how we did it!}.

Enjoy your weekend!

Week of May 6 - 10

Here's a review of our Science Lab activities for this week:

• Kindergarten: We learned about the life cycle of a ladybug this week; students were very excited to learn more about ladybugs, since they got their first "taste" of the subject at our Earth Day Ladybug Release! We learned how a ladybug changes throughout its life, and we got to observe some live ladybugs up close. Afterwards, Mrs. Lugeanbeal was kind enough to let us borrow her tadpole aquarium again, so we got to see if and how those little tadpoles were changing. Very exciting!
• 1st grade: This was week two of our tree study. This week, we learned about different kinds of trees and how their leaves look different. We collected leaves of our own, graphed our leaves, identified the leaves of Old Union, and made a book of our leaf rubbings.
• 2nd grade: We wrapped up our ocean unit this week by completing a culminating project over ocean food chains. Students had to create a full ocean food chain in their notebook; the only "rule" was that everything had to have something to eat! It was a fun way to end our ocean study.
• 3rd grade: Since we studied owls for the past three weeks {and dug through their pellets!}, we finished our owl study by creating an owl food chain. We used our knowledge of owl pellets to create prey for the owls in our food chain. Students who finished early had the opportunity to continue trying to identify the bones they found in their owl pellets.
• 4th grade:We explored stream tables this week. We looked at different kinds of weathering and did some investigations of our own to see what happens to the Earth when rain hits the ground.

A special thank you goes to all of you that were involved in Teacher Appreciation Week. I definitely felt loved! :) Thanks for your hard work and generosity!